Dark Prince
by MajoraDreemurr52
Summary: What begins as a normal day at Scare school ends as a tragedy for Thatch… Discovering powers, running from hunters… Learning about past…
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm about to unleash a new story!**

 **For all who were expecting continuance of Caged up, no worries I will continue it. After watching Casper's Scare School I couldn't help myself but to write these two chapters. :) I will be writing both stories at a time so once I will post something new for Caged up and next time something for this story. I also have some more time now that the old year has passed by… :D**

 **Woohoo happy new year everyone!**

 **Cover picture belongs to amazing Impressive-Limbo-Ink. :)**

 **So, this story is about Thatch. The rest you will find out through the chapters.**

 **Have fun!**

* * *

"The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4am knows all my secrets."

Poppy Z. Brite

* * *

Thatch's eyes opened to a dark all around him. For a moment he didn't know where he was. The place wasn't as at his home. He used to sleep with his head upside down. The room was never dark. At night there was the moon light that comforted him and at day the sun was keeping him warm. He wasn't delicate to the sun as other vampires. He was often wondering about that fact but whenever he asked his parents they wouldn't say anything or switch to other theme. His parents… Thatch hasn't seen them for a while. The moment later he remembered why.

Memories slowly disappeared and Thatch was back to his dark place. He wasn't scared anymore and slowly touched the edge of his coffin. As he pushed the edge it opened. He sat down and looked around his school bedroom.

What he saw didn't surprise him. Everything around him was dark but his vampire eyes didn't need much light to see. As he looked around he saw sleeping bodies of his classmates, sleeping peacefully. Suddenly he heard a loud noise of the clock. It banged four. Again he was the first one awake. Two hours early.

* * *

His eyes hurt. Very much. It seemed as if they wanted to explode. And his head was hurting him. And he was sleepy. _Very_ sleepy… _Sleepy_ … _sleep_ …

Just before he completely passed out to the dream land Thatch was snapped out by his teacher's voice. It shocked him. For a moment he stared blankly to his dragon teacher before he noticed that professor Thurdigree Burns was talking to _him_. But what was he talking?

"Thatch… sleep… school lesson! ... much punished…! … After the class… quarters… ."

After putting every word into a meaningful sentence, Thatch only weakly nodded and tried to stay at least awake for the end of the class.

* * *

Later he waited in front of the teacher's quarters. He felt awful! As he was thinking, if he would report about possible sickness, a voice came to his ear.

"Hi, Thatch!" Thatch turned his head towards the voice just to see nothing. ' _Great'_ , he thought, ' _now I'm hearing voices!'_

"Ehm, I'm here, you know. How are you feeling?" The voice was coming from the other side of where Thatch was looking at. He turned his head towards the voice again. Now he saw the source of it.

"Casper, give me a break! I'm not in the mood…" Thatch suddenly felt a strong pain in his head and leaned it on his hand. He closed his eyes. _'Maybe I am getting sick.'_

"Hey, are you ok?" Casper had a concern tone I his voice. "You don't seem very good." At the moment even professor Burns came out of his quarters. The moment he saw Thatch he knew something wasn't right.

"Thatch? Are you all right?" He gently grabbed him by the shoulder and unknowingly shook him a little. That gave Thatch a feeling of urgency in his stomach. He grabbed his mouth and ran towards the bathrooms.

* * *

As soon as professor Burns saw Thatch running towards the bathrooms he asked Casper to call school nurse. Casper flew away almost immediately. When Thatch got out, the nurse already came. She checked him for any symptoms of sickness and asked him a couple of questions. Thatch was barely answering and as she measured his heat she quickly send him off to bed. She told professor Burns to give him a week off as long as he doesn't get better.

Casper helped him to get to his coffin although Thatch was trying to be confident. On the way there he often told Casper to stop holding him, that he can stand for himself but nothing worked.

As they got to the bedroom, Thatch fell to sleep almost instantly. Casper silently giggled and closed his coffin.

Little ghost then shut down the lights, went out of the bedroom and silently closed the door.

"And where have you been?" A voice behind Casper said. Casper turned around and saw a mummy and a zombie. Ra and Mantha were looking at Casper with big eyes. He smiled them.

"I helped Thatch get to bed. I think he's got a bug."

"What's wrong with him?" Mantha asked and pointed towards the door.

"I don't know. But he was really odd today."

"I didn't see anything odd." Mantha said.

"Yeah, me neither. What was it?" Ra asked.

"Well, I saw," Casper took a deep breath. "That at first: He was sleepy all day. Professor Burns told him to meet him after the class because he almost fell asleep. I came to visit him and first: He couldn't sense where I am, and second: As soon as professor Burns came out and slightly touched him, he became more pale than ever and run towards the bathrooms." Casper took a deep breath in, "Well, you can guess what happened next." He stared at his friends for some kind of awful reaction. But instead they simply nodded.

"Well," Ra felt growling beneath his bandages and grabbed his stomach, "I'm hungry and I think we are late for lunch." Ra said.

"Yeah, me too." replied Mantha,"Let's go!"

* * *

"What's for lunch today?" Ra was looking to the cafeteria thing. She/he only groaned and lifted the scoop. Before Ra could say anything a great bunch of sticky light brown goo was on his plate.

"Oh." Not saying anything more he only took his plate and went towards the table where Casper and Mantha were sitting. He put down his plate and stared at it for a moment.

"I don't like this." Said Mantha, "It smells awful."

"I agree." Replied Casper.

Ra slowly put a piece of goo into his mouth. His eyes got bigger and he spited it out in almost a second. "It doesn't taste any better too!" He quickly ran towards the sink and started to wash his mouth. Casper and Mantha looked at each other and started laughing silently. When Ra returned the goo was making bubbles. It looked as if it wanted to explode.

"Who likes this stuff!?" With a quick glance around his eyes looked towards Wolfie. The werewolf was literally throwing the goo into his mouth.

"Wolfie, it seems." Said Casper stunned.

"How about we give this… thing to him and go for some apples?" Suggested Mantha.

"Yeah, I agree"

"Me too"

"Ok. Hey, Wolfie!" He looked at Mantha, goo all over his face, "Would you like ours too?"

He looked at her, "Really?"

"Well, we don't like it and you obviously do, so…" She was almost begging him to take it.

Wolfie looked at her and then the food. He was starving.

"Ok!" They quickly passed the plates to him.

"Oh, I'm glad that's over!" Ra exhaled, "I couldn't breathe anymore!"

Casper and Mantha smiled and they all started laughing.

"But," Ra continued, "I'm still hungry."

"Let's go get those apples, then!" Casper said. They got up and quickly took some apples. As they sat down to start eating, the speakers creaked. The whole cafeteria was silent in a couple of seconds.

"Can we speak now?" A voice was heard.

"Yes, Alder, we can." The smarter of the headmasters said.

"Oh, goody, goody! Dash, you begin! Ouch!"

"I will be the only one speaking, you moron!" Everyone could imagine how one of the two headed headmasters, Dash, smashed Alder and rolled his eyes doing so. He soon spoke on.

"Ah, well, good scare day to you all, students and teachers! Hope your day was awful. Today after the lunch break everyone must gather in the great hall. We will have an important visit, so BEHAVE! The visit is coming from the Underworld, and will tell an important message. Repeat, everyone must gather in the great hall after the lunch break, we will have an important visit with an important message from the Underworld. Thank you."

* * *

 **A/N: How is it? Well, whatever you think, write it down in the reviews, because soon it will get more complicated… hehehe… Second chapter coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: CHAPTER 2 IS OUT! :D**

 **Now the story can really begin… Have fun!**

* * *

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

\- Mother Terezia

* * *

When everyone was gathered in the great hall, headmasters came to the middle of the stage. Alder looked up to the other side of the room and they slipped and almost trashed on the floor. As quickly as they fell, they got up. Again the smack over face was heard. Only this time they could see the anger on Dash's face. And the smack.

As they got to the stand, Dash touched the microphone a few times, so they would be heard. He began.

"Dear students and teachers!" He looked over the hall, "As you already know, today we received a visit from the Underworld." The lights slowly went dark. Headmasters quickly glanced towards the back of the crowd and nervously continued, "Do what they tell you. They will inform you with future instructions. We call them on stage. Thank you." As fast as they could they ran down the stage.

Suddenly the loud bang was heard and the glass started to fall from the ceiling. Everyone closed their eyes and covered their head. As they opened them, on the stage there was a woman. All around her they could see broken light bulbs except one. That one shined right above the woman's head. Just as a light reflector with a very powerful light beam.

The woman was all in black as if she was made out of a coal except for her eyes. They were glowing orangey-red. Just like lava.

She approached the microphone and simply, without touching it, threw it towards the wall where it shattered into pieces. Then she looked across the hall. Everyone was quiet. She could sense their fear mixed with confusion. She slightly smiled. They were ready.

"I am thankful for you warm welcome." Her voice was a mix of a woman voice and metal, "We are very pleased." Everyone twitched a little when she said 'we'. She was very happy with that reaction, but didn't show it.

"As you already know, I won't repeat where we come from. All I'm going to do is warn you." She waited a couple of seconds for the tension to grow.

' _Like that is more provided for them to obey.'_

She knew that from her own experiences.

"Just listen and be quiet, that is if you get the message or not. Simply bite your little tongues and keep biting them till the end." She looked around and gave a small evil smile. "And don't worry. You'll know when it's over." With that a purple smoke started to lift from the ground and started to surround her. When it totally surrounded her the smoke turned green and suddenly vanished. On the stage instead of a woman there stood an old man. He was wearing a long cape, which was entirely concealing his body. He was giving the impression of a great importance.

He took some steps forward and widely opened his eyes. He just stood there and stared. And stared. And stared…

* * *

Thatch woke up to a war. All around him there were lifeless bodies on the ground, screaming and battle cry was heard and echoing through the sky.

There were no hills, no houses, nothing. Just infinite straight land, full of blood and hate.

' _What happened here?'_

Thatch looked around the place. Suddenly a sword came to his way. He screamed.

* * *

The man on the stage just stared on. Everyone wanted to ask why and what was that supposed to mean, but no one spoke. They were afraid what would happen if they would.

They waited for a sign to tell them that they are free to speak…

* * *

The sword and the person holding it came right through him. On the other side of him he heard swords clang together. Thatch quickly turned around to see what happened. Nervously he took some steps back just to bump into another fight. Again the battling bodies went just through him.

' _What the heck? Where am I?'_

Thatch started to run away from the fights. But although he didn't know where he was, he still had a feeling that all of this was very familiar.

He took another look around the battlefield. He looked who was fighting. Suddenly he saw it. His eyes extended and Thatch remained breathless.

Those people… He knew them…

'But from where?'

"Don't be afraid." A deep voice was heard. Thatch turned to all directions. There was no one talking. Only thing he saw was men, opening their mouths to screaming and cries of agony.

"I'm not to be seen. At least not to you." Thatch was now very confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," the voice said, "you are sick at the very moment. You weren't on the meeting when it all began. Everyone can see me. But you are the only one who can hear me."

"I don't understand. Why don't I feel like I'm sick? And how do you know I'm sick? I've never saw you before and you've never saw me." Thatch looked at the ground. His mind was trying to understand.

The voice continued, "How do you know? Maybe I've seen you, but you didn't see me. But that is not important now. I've got a message to tell you."

"What message?" Thatch asked.

"Well, you are here to find out…"

* * *

The man was still staring. By now ten minutes have passed and he just stared. His eyes were like glass but as if the man didn't have an urge to blink.

The whole hall was getting very nervous. They wanted to speak and go out of this insane house. But they couldn't. When someone tried to sneak out at one moment the guards appeared. They were as still as the man on the stage. But unlike the man they looked frightening.

They were looking as if they were only guards, but their shields were from war. They were old and rusty like silver armour and helmet, but covered in pure gold. On them there was no mark of which they belonged to. The armour and helmet were very strict looking and the helmet didn't have any eye or mouth opening. And they were tall. Very tall.

No one dared to go out so everyone just kept sitting or standing and hope to get out soon.

* * *

"So, why are we here?" Thatch was walking around the battlefield. Every man he looked at was very familiar to him. He didn't know why.

"Why do I keep seem to know everyone?"

"You just answered your first question." The voice said, "Those are the people of your past."

Thatch suddenly remembered from where he knew them.

His family knew those people. They were… They were…

Thatch closed his eyes: "Why are they here?"

"Your father is dead."

* * *

 **A/N: That's chapter 2! Funny, how quickly all complicated, right?**

 **See you in chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

 **Chapter three is out!**

 **Fun reading everyone!**

* * *

"You know children, always playing with the forces of darkness."

Kelley Armstrong, The Reckoning

* * *

Thatch paled.

"My…my father is…he is…what…?"

"Your father is dead, Thatch. And you are in grave danger."

Thatch needed to sit down. That was all too much for him. He didn't hear the war no more although it was still raging around him.

"But…but why are they fighting?"

"They need a new king. And, as you should know, your family isn't really peaceful around it. The descendants of the first would do anything to get to the throne. Your relatives are all fighting for it. It doesn't matter that you are the rightful heir to the throne. You have no older brothers or sisters to rule and you are still too young. That is why the war even started."

Thatch knew what this meant. The throne belongs to the one that conquers all of the kingdoms or to the last descendant standing on the battlefield. Choosing the king peacefully and by consensus of every nation was rare, if it ever even happened. He still didn't understand everything.

"But why? My father was supposed to live for a long time. It wasn't his time to die. How…"

The voice interrupted him.

"How did he died you ask?"

Thatch silently nodded, waiting for an explanation. The voice continued.

"Your father died by the hunter's hand."

* * *

After a half an hour the man on the stage was still staring. The tension in the great hall was growing with every minute. The silence was starting to get unbearable.

* * *

Thatch raised his head in alert.

"Hunter? The hunter killed my father? "

"Yes. And he doesn't mean to stop here. He knows about the nations. He means to eliminate them all whit an army of his own."

' _When will it finish? I can't take this anymore. I need to get out!'_

Those were the thoughts that were crossing the student's and teacher's minds.

As Casper turned to see how everyone was doing he saw Mooshead. He looked pale. It didn't take much for Casper to find out that he was afraid and at his very edge. He was shaking and nervously looking around the hall.

' _I can't take this anymore! I…I need to get out!'_

Casper saw that Mooshead's eyes were turning especially around the main gates. As he looked towards them he saw what Mooshead was looking at. The doors had a hole inside them. Around the gates and the guard was just enough space for him to squeeze to the other side.

Casper slightly shook his head.

' _This won't be good.'_

As he stepped towards him, to see if he could help, Mooshead screamed and launched himself towards the main gates of the hall.

Before the guards managed to stop him he already squeezed through.

"No!"

Casper quickly put his hand over his mouth but it was too late. Mooshead managed to escape as his scream echoed through the hall.

Everyone turned towards the man on the stage.

He was still. He still stared. Nothing happened. The guards were still. Everyone relaxed a bit.

But suddenly the guards kneeled into a defend position. They lifted their shields before them to protect their upper body.

As Casper looked towards the man on the stage again he saw what was coming.

The green smoke was slowly starting to lift around the man. It got bigger and bigger and it entirely consumed him. Suddenly the smoke turned bloody red and formed a sphere around the shadow figure inside.

Panic spread quickly. They quickly ran and tried to hide behind the guard's shields. Just as they hide the sphere exploded and broke some high windows and cracked a wall around. But the shields were gladly without any scratch and so was everyone behind them. The smoke that was released was starting to form a shape. It extended around the stage and formed the upper body of a man. On his head he had two twisted horns. His hands were extended above his head and he started to laugh. He showed his sharp teeth. The voice was metallic. Finally the eyes formed. They glowed dangerously through the dark hall.

But as suddenly as the creature appeared it disappeared into the thin air. The smoke was gone and the stage was empty. Some of the students tried to peek if the danger was over when the guards turned to ashes and disappear.

Everyone left in the hall just stood and stare.

* * *

Thatch was walking up and down the land. He couldn't figure it out.

' _How…'_

He stopped. He had to ask.

"How? How am I supposed to catch him?"

Suddenly the ground started to shake.

"Someone disobeyed the rule. I am sorry Thatch. Good luck."

Thatch became alert. He still didn't understand it all and he didn't even know where to start!

"Wait…!"

But he was too late.

"Goodbye…"

Then the voice turned silent and the screams of war turned louder and louder.

Thatch had to block his ears.

Suddenly the sky was ripped apart and the warriors started to change. Their skin was gone and everyone around Thatch turned to bones. Then even bones disappeared. The sound of war stopped.

Thatch put his hands away from his ears. Everything around him was falling apart till all that was left was the small desert island on which Thatch was standing. It was a small island surrounded with the black sea.

Suddenly a woman scream was heard and it echoed through the blackness. Thatch blocked his ears again but it was too late. He could feel the scream finding his way into his mind. Everything faded to black.

Thatch could hear only one thing before he too faded into the oblivion.

' _Order 141. Kill.'_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hope you enjoyed! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Aaaaaaaaand CHAPTER 4! :D**

* * *

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.

\- James Stephens

* * *

Thatch opened up his eyes. The space around him was pitch black and just as moments before he was lying. Only now he wasn't surrounded whit ghosts of nightmare but the terrors of memory on them. His back was supported with something soft by the feel of it. With a nerve to find out whenever this was dream or not Thatch reached into the darkness. His fingers suddenly bumped into some kind of soft wall. Thatch quickly drew his hand back and away from it. A moment later, after the first shock was gone, he deeply exhaled.

' _I'm in my coffin. It was just a dream...'_

He decided to lay down a bit and think about everything that was going on. When he somehow calmed down he thought.

He couldn't feel the random sleepiness that surrounded one at his or her awakening. Instead Thatch was rushing with adrenaline from his dreams if it were mere dreams at all. The war and an unknown voice in the back of his mind…

He didn't know.

Now his worry of his state was replaced with thoughts of worry for the reality. And the questions just couldn't seem to stop.

' _Is my father ok? How long has the war been going on? What is Order 141? What does it mean? Is all of that even real?'_

Suddenly another question crossed his mind.

' _What do I do if it is…'_

Without a further thought Thatch opened the lid of his coffin and took a look around. He was alone.

' _I need to find out what's happening at home!'_

And like that he swung himself out of the coffin and raced to the phone booth.

* * *

' _No one mentions the visit. No one walks in the room where the visit took place. No one thinks about the visit.'_

That were three silent rules that everyone agreed on after the guests of the school were gone and the panic that rose in everyone's throat calmed down.

But still the fear remained and just like that Casper, Mantha, Ra and the other student got two days off.

The teachers and principals were much shocked by the visit and couldn't prepare themselves to act properly while teach. The moment they remembered that they almost died the shacking and mumbles started. The desire to see their loved ones again was too great and after two failed hours of class the principals decided to take some time off. If the students and teachers wanted, they could go and visited their families.

Almost everyone went home.

The students left were Mantha, Ra, Casper, Wolfie, Dummy Girl and Thatch's gang.

Mantha whose family was on vacation decided to stay and, if given a chance, study for an upcoming test. Ra who didn't want to go home was looking forward to explore an empty school. Casper stayed to join his friends. He really didn't need to get his uncles testing jokes on him again…

The others stayed simply because, why not stay in an empty school and see what mess you can make?

Casper, Mantha and Ra were now walking down the hall in search of a place to have some fun when suddenly Casper stopped in the middle of the hall.

"Wait! Oh, no!"

Mantha and Ra gave him a strange look.

"Umm… what?"

"We forgot to tell Thatch! He doesn't know he can go home! Come on, let's find him."

And they ran down the hall to the school's bedroom.

* * *

' _Come on, come on! Answer, please!'_

For the last twenty minutes Thatch has been trying to reach his parents. When the answer-machine responded again Thatch was on the edge of panicking.

Suddenly he heard footsteps.

' _Oh no! I mustn't let them see me worried!'_

Quickly he started to talk to let whoever was coming see as if everything was fine.

When Casper, Mantha and Ra run into the room the found him 'just finishing' the conversation.

"…yeah, yeah, I'll be FINE, mom. Bye!"

Thatch threw the phone down and turned to see who came into the room. The sight of Casper, Mantha and Ra didn't make him happy, of course. He spit out the words.

"What? What do _you_ want?"

Casper looked over his friends and then back to Thacth.

"Umm… Did you hear the news?"

Thatc rolled his eyes in frustration.

' _Of course he would come in person and tell me.'_

So he rolled with it.

"What news, Ghost Boy? And better be quick, I'm busy."

Casper was now flying instead of standing.

"Yeah… You missed the news. You could went home!"

He smiled and started to float on the spot while quite the opposite for a moment Thatch frowned.

' _Went home… I could see what was going on...'_

Casper saw the hidden frown and the worried glance that overtook Thatch for a moment.

"Hey, are you ok?"

But Thatch just pushed him away. He was not going to let him see vulnerability. Never. So he ignored the question.

"And, how are we supposed to go, huh, Ghost Boy? I don't think there are any ships left!"

After that Casper smiled.

"Not all of them are gone."

* * *

The Scare School Scouter and his blind captain Cappy were flying over the sea whit a high speed.

"Arrr, nothing like the ol' wind an' the sea beneat' for a life of a pirate!"

"Ay, ay, talk for ya self! Rock on the left side of the deck!"

From the warning of his eyes on the sea, parrot Beaky, Captain turned the wheel hard right and the ship barely missed the top of the mountain pointing out of the sea of clouds.

Captain Cappy was having a time of his life as after this ride he also got permission for a rest. But the other passenger on the deck weren't of the same thinking.

The wild ride made them sick and most of the time they were just slightly leaning over the edge of the ship and hoping to survive the ride. Trying to forget the nausea building his way up his throat Casper decided to correct the captain's last sentence.

"C-captain, I don't… ugh… believe… that clouds are the same thing as the sea…"

But the old captain didn't mind the noticing.

"Ay, but who are thee to judge what the sea is and what the sea ain't not?"

During his answering captain hardly missed another two mountain peaks. If it weren't for Beaky quickly turning the wheel they would have crashed.

After finding his weak balance again Casper decided that it was best to leave the captain alone and went to the back of the ship to join the others.

When Casper joined them they managed to sit down the benches on the ship. He sat beside Mantha. Beside her sat Ra and in the next row of the beech sat Thatch.

"Why… did… did you came… with me?"

Casper turned to look at the vampire. Thatch, as others, tried not to spill anything and repeated the question.

"Why did you c-came… with me?"

The ship was now sailing a little more steeply.

Casper made more nauseous smile than a real one.

"You a-are…sick."

The clouds that surrounded them now turned bloody red.

"That's a… l-lame… ugh… excuse. We all a-are right now… You just… just want to know where I… I live so you… can s...s-strive me here too, r-right?"

Casper smiled and tried to explain that he was just trying to make sure he was ok when without a warning the Scouter came to a stop. All passengers were thrown on the deck's floor. Slowly and carefully not to throw up they got to their feet and try to assume balance in their weak knees.

"Ya'r ride's over."

Everyone aboard jumped from the sudden appearance of the captain behind their backs, speaking in a low, harsh voice. After the ship's captain cleared his throat he continued.

"The Underworld, borough of the Great Vampire kingdom. Ya're here."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeeeah, I imagined that Thatch is not all bad… Hard on the outside but all soft on the inside. :)**

 **And yeah, I know that was a bit lemons at the end but Casper was just worried, really. I don't ship Thatch and Casper together… for now… ;)**

 **Hope you liked it! Till next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello y'all! I'm back! :D**

 **Finally, a new chapter. :) I want to thank you all for sticking up with the long wait and now, as promised, it's time for an upgrade! :D**

 **I just have one question for you, readers, would anyone want to be my Beta-reader? It would be of a great help. I check for mistakes at least five times but I always find some more when it's already published… It annoys me. If anyone would be prepared to help, please send a PM on my account and I will choose till the next chapter if anything pops out. :D I would be deeply grateful for your help. :)**

 **Now, enjoy! :D**

* * *

A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and the height of its dreams.

\- Herb Caen

* * *

The Vampire kingdom was a city, carved into a foot of a humongous volcano. The living rock of a fearsome mountain was half-surrounding the city in a form of a crescent moon. On the highest point, carved directly into a volcano's wall as well as build upon it from the same rock was the palace. It was the biggest, greatest building in the entire city, spreading in both ways, an immense height and wideness. It had many towers and exterior windows and balconies. Palace was the only building with all of its pointy rooftops, balcony fences, doors and gates made out of pure gold. Some of the other building had this too, yet these were rare, belonging mostly to public such as schools or markets, lying just below and closest to the palace. Other, 'home' buildings had rooftops made out of rubies, which had a lesser value in the city since volcano was constantly growing these precious stones. The supplies of such stones were nearly infinite.

If someone wanted to be rich the vampires had an inside joke, to just come to their capital. But that was nearly impossible. All trades with the outside world were proceeding outside the rock-made walls, not a hundred footsteps form harbour and still a pretty long way from the city. Vampires were highly mysterious by their nature and rarely let any strangers in the city. Royal family only send its children to the outside world to learn and bring progress from it so they could grow stronger, nothing more. The population, as well as royalty, were also highly against any conflicts and wars. The reason here was in their history and knowledge about hatred towards them. So they all chose to live peacefully, cutting themselves away.

The streets connecting the buildings were as peculiar as its citizens. They were of all shapes and sizes, the widest road extending in a straight line form the city's entrance, directly to the palace. Other, smaller ones were outgrowing from the main and even smaller paths from them. Between them was no order, the connections build in a moment, nothing planned ahead. And thus the city was spread wide and long, bursting from various sizes, shapes and life running through it.

The wall surrounding the city was thick and wide, taking courage and prompting doubt that no living soul could walk and climb it in a lifetime. Around the wall people were growing legends on its emerge, yet none of it was entirely build on facts. The people frankly preferred it that way. The wall, full of holes and tunnels, never being explored to its fullest was keeping them on a small alert, that was true, but nothing from it ever attacked them or endangered them so they didn't laid too much worry into it. They were willing and relaxed even when living just by the wall. Its endless mystery emerged in yet another legend, which served as a protection against any danger that would dare to bring them down.

The ends of the moon shaped edge of the city were formed into two huge watching towers with pointy red roofs.

The gates to the city were built from metal, laced with various diamonds and jewels and precious stones to harden it. Both halves of the giant gate had no holes, not even a scratch and were thick up to two foot-steps, long nearly a hundred ones. They weren't made for opening and closing that was clear on the first sight.

Together with the towers, resembling the eyes of the city, gates were lying on the lowest point of it, its first as well as only line of defence. The only thing that was lying lower was harbour.

From the harbour the city was shining behind the rock and metal cover, the volcano's inner light, upon finding the way out and entering the rivers, running inside and outside the city, reflected from every building. Upon falling on buildings, they returned its own shining, resulting in a dark and golden rainbow dancing on the volcano wall. City's red and golden shades were mixing smoothly with the dark colour of bedrock and together they were giving an impression of immense power, bound to be feared and respected for as long as it stands.

Seeing the rough outlines of the city, on the closer inspection one could see that in fact the city was bursting with life, both moving and still. The secret to it was in city's laying, resting beside sleeping, yet still living life bringer. As such, the city was highly resourceful and full of greens which were on every building and street, either tamed, put in a various pots, or living on their own, wild.

Thatch, catching the sight of the city, was glad that it was still there, remembering his nightmare, yet he hid the sight of relief, knowing he wasn't alone. He only let himself a small shine from his ruby eyes as they rested upon his homeland.

For a moment he forgot the sickness and tiredness he was feeling and just let the light wash away everything.

It was perfect.

* * *

When their ship landed in the harbour captain Cappy toppled the sails. Thatch frowned at the sight and turned to the captain.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

The blind captain smiled at Thatch, showing him the remains of his teeth. Unknowingly to the man, Thatch shut his eyes for a second, and sprawled out his tongue in discust.

"Ay be needing of a new flint stone for me boat, laddie."

"Flintstone?"

"Ay, flint stone. Thee have no right place in yer mind of how cold 'tis at night on a ship. An' to be able to get a flint stone from a volcano? Ay, this be the livin'!"

"Ay, ay, an' crackers!"

"Ay, and crackers, stop yer whinin'! Yer givin' me head splinters already!"

"Have thee got yer shopping list?"

"Ay, ya blabbering bird! Right 'ere, I wrote it, look!"

"Ya wrote it? But ye'r blind!"

"Ye'r readin' it then."

"These be some rubbish!"

"Stop yer whinin'!"

Thatch stopped listening to the old pirate and his bird a long time ago, just to save on his own growing headache. He didn't care of his cold feet or what they needed from the market outside the city. He just needed to see his family and assure himself that everything was fine.

Thatch must have been glancing at the city for a moment too long.

"Hey, you ok?"

He sighed.

' _That guy again…'_

Thatch didn't even look at him, he saw that the annoying captain, although rather clumsily, released the desk and was leaving the ship, a ship's wheel tied on his back. Not minding, Thatch started walking towards the desk himself. He didn't needed Casper to pity him at his worry.

"I'm fine! Leave me alone," he sighed: "Look, Ghost Boy, I'm home, ok? You walked me like a baby all the way here, from now on, I'm on my own, got it?"

With that Thatch got off the ship, not even glancing back. On the other hand, Casper looked after his friend. He could feel that something wasn't right and he knew it was just going to get worse, not being psychic at all. But still, he felt it would be wrong to follow Thatch when he told him not to. He really was home after all. He, Mantha and Ra just looked at each other and then ran after the old captain, shouting at seeing him almost falling off the edge of the harbour.

Thatch was left alone, walking and slightly shivering on his way towards the city gates, slowly, unknown to himself, speeding his tempo with each step.

* * *

"Are we ready?"

A tall, pale man was standing at the end of a long dining table, made out of single piece of wood. His muscular body, dressed only in white shirt with green army jacket on top, was tense as he stood, his chair pushed backwards in anger. Twelve men were sitting in front of him and grave silence fell upon the room.

Nine of them were scientists, dressed in white lab coats. Some of them were clenching their notes, while others were rubbing their hands in nervousness or almost unnoticeably sliding their fingers on their pencils and pens. In front of them were papers, scattered across the whole table, filled with scientific words, methods, graphs and explanations.

The other two men were sitting on two serial chairs on the right of the man. They didn't look frightened at all, rather amused at the situation. They had a slight smirk on their faces, eyes flowing through the room in interest.

The last one, sitting just beside the man, didn't laugh nor look at others. His eyes were focused on a particular object lying on the table on front of him.

The object was made of the only pieces of paper that didn't belong to the scientists. They were tied in an old, thick book, lying opened in front of an angered man. The title of the first page said the title of the book:

 _Bram Stocker,_

 _Dracula_

The man lifted his head off of an old book of horrors and looked at the standing man.

"Order 141. Kill."

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my, I feel so evil! Another cliff-hanger… :D**

 **The city of The Vampire Kingdom – I hope I didn't SUCK when describing it! XD Sorry… But I really think I got it right and described it as imagined, at least after so many check-ups… Maybe one day I will prepare myself to draw it. Then it will be clear. :)**

 **And again, if anyone would ike to be my Beta-reader, just PM me. :) I will be really glad by having some help with those 'haha-you-missed-that-one-after-so-much-checking 'mistakes.**

 **Till next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello, everyone!**

 **So, a lot of things happened during the writing of this chapter – I posted my first picture, Peach Blossom, I found some FANTASTIC drawings and sketches of some of my fave shows (My Hero Academia, Steven Universe, Dragon Balls, Adventure Time, Penguins of Madagascar, Gravity Falls, Mickey Mouse shows, Batman – Red Robin) and cartoons (Frozen (heh, duh ;)) Cars, Mune – The Guardian of the Moon, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Avengers)…**

 **The story has also been added to the Casper's Scare School collection by RockportMaricruz! Thank you so much!**

 **BUT, most importantly, now I'm co-operating with** **ulecelec** **, who has been very kind to me. :) He/She has started drawing scenes from my story and I still can't express big enough gratitude for it. On her/his page you'll find many great drawings and please, go and check them out! :) There are also many OCs and I must say that they're very well thought-through.**

 **One of her OCs, Anubis, twin brother of Ra, will also be joining our story, so keep an eye for him! :D**

 **Here is a link to** **ulelec** **'s home-page on Devantart so you can see his/her deviants for yourself :) :**

 **Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Cap, wait!"

Ra shouted, as he, Casper and Mantha were running to him across the harbour. The old air-wolf, being half way across the port and surrounded by other monsters, didn't hear them – he was angrily walking dead-ahead, yelling at Beaky about their shopping list and was sticking an old scrap of paper before the parrot. Beaky, on the other hand, was shouting back and rubbing his eyes. Three friends could hear both of them even from afar, Beaky saying something about dust and if there is any water around. Unknowingly the Captain, along with the parrot on his shoulder, was walking right towards it – the hot, almost boiling water, heated by the volcano from below.

"Stop!"

"Wait!"

"Captain, no!"

Trio screamed, trying to drown out the keep-growing crowd, Ra's vocal cords hurting from the tension. Captain stopped shouting when he caught a glimpse of his name. But it was of no use. Beaky, seeing the chance of being heard, diverted Cappy's attention to himself. They were nearing the edge.

Mantha, seeing that screaming was of no use, sped up her pace, passing both boys and dashed forward. Ra and Casper stopped screaming in surprise when they saw her. She was fast and skilful, not losing her head while dodging every other monster with a blinding speed. She was nearing the Captain fast.

Boys, coming over the shock, saw that despite her being fast, she still might be too late, for she was nearing the most crowded part of the port where all the harbours merged into one – The Great Crossing.

The Great Crossing was big and wide circle, stretching out to five ports – Eastern Port in the middle, North-Eastern Port and South-Eastern Port on its sides, Northern Port on the left from the middle and Southern Port on the right. Everything was build according to the Vampire kingdom, which was lying in the west - a long and wide, stone road connecting it to The Great Crossing.

Every day, no matter the hour, The Great Crossing was always crowded, monsters bumping into each other and trying to get a quick way through. The only one that weren't bumping into anyone were Captain and Beaky who's shouting and cursing were repelling every-monster. They were quickly nearing the edge.

Seeing the way that monsters were opening gave Ra and Casper a bad vibe. They knew what was lying ahead. They screamed even louder.

"Beaky, tell him to stop!"

"Captain!"

"You're gonna fall!"

"Excuse me, excuse me! I just really need to – ugh! – get through!"

Running, bumping, various 'Hey!'s and apologising kept going as two boys were finding their way through. Suddenly Casper remembered something.

"Ugh, of course… Ra! I've got an idea!"

When Ra turned his eyes towards Casper he saw the white ghost changing the form of his legs into a ghost-tail. Ra came to an immediate stop, turning entirely. He lifted both arms, pointing towards the obvious change.

"Dude. Seriously?"

Casper shrugged and gave an apologetic look as he flew upwards above of the crowd. When he was high enough, approximately tree heights of himself, he took a look. He could see every monster, big and small and it didn't took him long to spot Manta. She was long before both of the boys, stopping because of a family of bug-monsters she almost stepped on. The family was circling her, the biggest one – who didn't even reach Mantha's hip – lecturing her and trying to point his walking cane towards Mantha's head.

Mantha seemed uneasy, trying to get through and reach Cappy, but she was unable. The family was squirming and every time she lifted her foot to step across, one of the bug-children poked her other leg or setting himself in her way, forcing her to step back.

Casper, seeing this, flew downwards, stopping just above the unlucky moment.

"Hey Mantha."

Mantha looked up and smiled when she saw him.

"Casper! Am I glad to see you! Listen, umm… could you help me a little bit? I've apologised for a millionth time but…"

She gave him an apologetic look.

"I just don't understand their language."

Casper smiled, reaching his hands and grabbing hers. When he got a firm hold, he quickly lifted her in the air. Bug-family, especially the biggest one – head of the family, assumed Casper – had shocked look on their face. The head of the family was waiving his cane towards Casper and Mantha, coursing in his own language, while children were trying to get a hold on Mantha's feet. Both were to no avail and Casper and Mantha were already in the air.

"Phew."

Mantha made a big exhale as she watched bug-family getting smaller than they already were.

"You can't imagine how much they were beginning to bug me. Your save was just on time."

Casper let out a chuckle, flying them upwards in their search. It didn't take long for Mantha to spot the lost duo.

"There!"

Casper took a glance to which way Mantha was looking and quickly saw where to go. As he changed direction to the Southern Port, he could already see the wide, entirely empty spot where Captain and Beaky stopped. They were on the left side of the port, on the very edge of their near fall.

He quickly flew them there and Casper let Mantha go just above the ground. She looked at him, still flying, and Casper threw his thumb across his shoulder.

"I'll just go get Ra. We'll be right back!"

With that he flew. Mantha, being left alone, decided to check on the newly-founds.

"Hey, guys! Don't you two ever dare scare us like that anymore!"

Beaky, spotting Mantha, stopped talking with Cappy middle-way through.

"Why, hello, Mantha! Ay, we're sorry, but that sea-cow has thrown dust into me eyes! Ay, unable to see, ay ain't noticed we were walking! Fortunatley, ay opened me left eye, just ajar, but that was enough. I shouted: "Stop!" and luckily saved us before the end of our sailin'."

Not even finished, Cappy jumped into Beaky's story.

"Ya saved us?! Nay, ye be talking lies! I smelled the boilin' water below and stopped! Come on, little one, smell! Ya can smell it a mile away, that bitter smell of death approaching!"

"Smell of death? Oh, boy… You'll ne'er admit I saved us, won't you?"

Beaky rolled his eyes and covered them with his wing but Mantha could see that he was used to this kind of conversations. She even got the feeling that they amused him.

In that moment Mantha heard someone calling her name. She turned and saw Ra, just as he was laid on the ground. He was waiving her and Casper was struggling to put him down nicely. When he finally managed it, Casper landed beside him, his ghost-tail turning into legs.

Mantha chuckled and went towards them.

When they met one another half way through, Ra was just talking to Casper who was slightly bent forward, catching his breath.

"…dude, this is how it feels to fly? That's awesome! I bet Anubis would love that! I have to tell him when I get home. Oh my gods, I need to write that down before I forget! Has anybody got a piece of paper and pencil I could use? I bet this would get my brother out of his room…"

Ra kept talking and Casper managed a nod, remembering the black-strapped mummy from school. He still couldn't believe he and Ra were twins. They were complete opposites despite Ra being older for only two minutes. To Casper, Anubis always seemed lonely, only his earphones and music keeping him company while he kept in a corner, far away from others. But not long ago, Casper remembered seeing him with a girl. He unintentionally smiled. Casper surely never saw the girl before, but they seemed happy in each other's company. Mantha snapped him out of his daydream by greeting them. Casper, noticing how he was holding himself, quickly corrected his composure and awkwardly waved.

"Hi! Uh… How are Captain and Beaky?"

Mantha smiled, pretending not to notice what Casper was trying to hide.

"Oh, they're ok. They managed to stop in time for themselves."

Ra stopped talking and listened to the news. He and Casper smiled happily.

"That's great! But, uh…where are we anyway?"

Ra looked around him, not seeing any directions. There was only one sign, but it was marking the Southern Port.

Casper, who was feeling a little more rested, turned his legs into ghost-tail again and flew upwards. He quickly returned.

"I think I see the way out. It leads to the kingdom. We just need to walk straight forward and we'll get to that big stone road. The road seemed to be leading to the market and from there, I think, towards the kingdom."

Cappy and Beaky, reaching the trio in the meantime, heard what Casper said.

"Ay, laddie, than that way the ship'll sail!"

"The map is set, what are ya waiting for? Let's set the sails!"

Casper, Ra and Mantha smiled and together they started walking towards the market.

* * *

Thatch was exhausted. He was walking for a good hour, trying to get through the crowd, and finally, he succeeded. He was on the west side of The Great Crossing and ahead of him was nothing but a wide, rock-solid road heading towards his home.

Monsters were also calmer here. They were in no danger of falling anywhere and the road was constantly getting wider to meet the width of the gates. Thatch could also see the market, lying just a quarter of the way ahead.

He was close and he knew he couldn't stop now.

' _I'm coming home, mom.'_

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed. :)**

 **In the next chapter things will get really, REALLY complicated, so I ask you for your patience and for sticking with me.**

 **Till next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: SUUUUMEEEEERRRR! :sun:**

 **And it's been a long time since I lastly updated this story… I am utterly ashamed for that – BUT! I managed to do a lot of things right in school and am so, SOOOOOOO happy about it I can hardly express it! SOOOO HAPPY!**

 **First of all, I want to thank everyone for sticking with me! You are awesome and I hope you'll be 'glued' with me furthermore, heh. ;) I couldn't do anything without your support! :heart:**

 **Secondly, since school is on a break for the time, I intend on giving my ol' art-fingers a little test. I look up on drawing a few scenes from my stories or whatever comes on my mind and, upon finding it good, I'll post it for you to see. :D**

 **The examples of my drawings are on the links below:**

majoradreemurr52/art/Dark-prince-Teaser-Shadow-753199668

 **majoradreemurr52/art/High-Priest-752618209**

 **I'll try and post as often as I can so make sure to stick with me!**

 **:heart: to you all!**

 **P.S.:**

 **A little warning – this chapter is the longest one I posted here and it has a whole lot of new characters. Because of that, I've divided it into smaller parts. I think that the reading will be easier that way as well as more understandable but, if you're still confused, write to me and I'll see to it that the chapter is clearer and more… um… 'together'. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

\- Guillaume Apollinaire

* * *

"The plan is working p – _Whoa!_ – p-perfectly, sir."

A pale man was walking along the corridor and a smaller, dwarf-tall and slim figure was trying to catch up with other's pace. Man looked determined. His eyes fearless and grey, he stood strong with each step he took and with his fists clenched tightly, he was boasting his muscles under the white shirt. His posture indicated a warrior, a soldier and a fighter with a clear goal ahead of himself - quite opposite of the other, who was clumsily stumbling behind the figure while trying to retain the pile of paper in his hands. He looked dishevelled, wearing a messy white shirt with a loosened black tie, hanging loosely from his neck. One could still see an expended coffee stain which was caused by water and a cloth from when he tried to wash it off. His too long jeans and black, unpolished shoes were the main reason he was having a hard time following – they both were either too long or too big and worn out completely, holding only by a thread. A fact that a bedhead of reddish hair was falling on his face wasn't helping and he was, although unsuccessfully, puffing them away from his eyes, trying to look where he was headed.

They were walking through a long white-painted corridor dressed with rich paintings and sculptures from all over the world. Each design held a story. And each of them held death.

A man, warrior, always won in these masterpieces. _Always will win_ they were saying _._ And the beast was always slayed in the end.

Despite the gruesome death of each and every one of the evil monsters – beheaded, burned, struck through the heart – a young trainee took a shine to the heroes. They were always so brave and strong. _Fearless._ Each one with his own heroic pose, never doubting the task they were cast upon and completing it without a blink of an eye.

' _Wish I could be like that…'_

"Colin…"

Deep, booming voice echoed through the corridor. A dwarf-boy turned his head. Paleness of the other man always surprised him. Cold eyes not even needed to turn and face him, Collin always had a feeling that he could see right through him. It frightened him.

"Has Subject 141 been released yet?"

Colin searched through the papers in a rush, many of them on the ground around him already. Flipping the files and looking through the numbers, he finally found the right one.

' **Subject** _ **141**_ **/Buggane/** _ **Shadow'**_

A redhead didn't know much about this project –personnel was allowed to know only what their job required of them. And Colin was a man of information. As such, he had to know statistics and basic happenings around the place, an example being how many staff is working in the building, what is their status and so on. But what he knew was only basic information. At times, he felt frustrated for not knowing everything but he also felt relief. If he knew more… Who knows what the big boss would do to him to keep them. And who knows what he could be able to do with them for himself… He thought about his missed opportunities quite frequently.

Collin, having found the right file, skipped through the scrabbled notes and pictures of research. Many of the papers were wrinkled and torn at the edges, as well as censored with a black marker, making some of the lines meaningless. And the writing… Unreadable.

' _Scientists…'_

He skipped a few more black marked papers till he reached the last one with the most basic of information and quickly skipped through: "The subject is being released as we speak, sir. The data I received shows that the subject is fully prepared, only... They're a bit behind-date due to trying to get the device installed onto the subject…"

Colin checked the notes again.

"However, the task was successful. Due to the security viability testing of control over the subject, they've calculated half-an hour delay and something I can't quite read out...It looks like… twenty… _something_ , sir… I apologise. I will check the information again. Besides that, everything seems to be in order, sir."

Answering the question, Colin closed the almost useless file, starting to pick up the other papers around him which have fallen from his grasp on the red carpet. Man, not minding his inferior falling behind, quickly passed under a silver arch into the next room, letting out a single, monotonous word as he went.

" _Good."_

* * *

Market place was enormous. It was the second biggest object beside the city itself, yet it hardly reached a quarter of it.

Everywhere an eye could reach, it could see stands and entertainers, spreading far and wide in every possible shape, size and colour without any particular order. Objects and people were scattered all over the place. One could even see the most hated enemies here, being neighbours. Of course, the occasional yelling and curses were not to be missed. The rules were non-existent there. Everyone present in a market was ultimately independent and was required to take every matter into his or her own hands. If someone wanted to be successful, they had to rely only on themselves.

As this was bound to take some wicked sides, it also meant that whoever was walking through the market could find almost everything he desired. He just had to look hard enough.

As everyone having their first time here, Casper, Manta and Ra gaped at the size and feasted their eyes upon the sight of this multicultural place. Everything was shining, fussing and racket deafening their ears.

"I want it all."

Casper looked at Ra in disbelief as the mummy-boy was still gaping, dazzled by all sight and sounds.

"You can't be serious. This would take a fortune!"

"Not to mention, what could you _possibly_ be doing with all that stuff?" Manta joined in the topic and grimaced as she caught a sight of a broken cane on one of the stands. Closing in only for checking the price, she was taken aback. The number was so high she didn't even know what kind of _–illion_ it represented: "Half of it seems like an over-prized junk to me…"

As she watched the object with a little wider distance, the only valuable bedrock on the very top of it – it seemed like a very badly cultivated emerald, almost every edge cracked or chipped - fell from its handle on the volcano ground, shattering on the impact. As Manta observed the accident a few moments longer, she saw the salesman, chubby and old-looking gremlin dressed in only a large furry coat. At the sight of the damage he shrieked with a high pitch and, surprisingly fast, ran around his standing. When he kneeled beside the shattered rock with his arms wide open around it, Manta could see him quickly taking something out of his back pocket. An object was highly similar to a cheap type of glue she knew from the sales at home. She didn't need seeing the rest of the scene to confirm her sayings.

"Told you so…" she murmured.

Nevertheless, Ra continued to hungrily watch the jewels and trinkets as they walked along.

Market was, luckily, less crowded than The Great Crossing. Only thing they needed to fight for were either an object of interest, prizes or for a place where a salesman or a saleswoman desired to place their stands. As the little company of five walked through the market, they saw every case of that occur.

After some time they came to a stand, bigger than any they've seen before. Upon the closer look it was, in fact, a small wooden house, old and seemingly abandoned. It had no windows and the only entrance was presented by a small door with a bronze handle. No one was entering it, less exiting. People were avoiding it, it seemed.

"Har har! 'tis th' place!" Captain seemed excited to have found this wreckage.

"Cap…" Casper asked: "Where are we?"

He chuckled and said in a raspy voice: "This be th' place where only th' finest flinstone be sold. The Ol' Yaga's."

"Right… Flintstone."

Looking at the building again, the place didn't look as a shop at all, more abandoned than anything.

"Cap… Are you sure Yaga still works here?"

But the old sea-dog was already on his way in. Kids, not wanting to stay alone outside, quickly followed. Beasky heard Casper's question and answered instead of his friend: "Ay, she still works here, lad. Jus'... don' natter much, savvy? Or it mey be troubelsome."

Casper, Manta and Ra nodded.

As Captain opened the doors they gave out a loud screech. And when they looked inside, the place was pitch black.

"How does th' ship look, parrot? Still as dusty as th' last time?" he let out a snort.

"Th' place be Davy Jones' locker. We can nah see anythin'."

"That ole maggot! Full o' secrets, as ever!" he laughed again and entered.

* * *

It was released and its orders were to kill. But not like it was the thing's first ever killing. The number twenty from the files… They were marked as _'casualties on duty'_.

That was everything Colin could find out from a guy that owned him from a couple of rounds he paid for him the other night. He said that if he said anything more he would get killed and didn't want to talk further. Therefore, Colin let this one slip.

Another opportunity, wasted.

Angry at himself, Colin was walking up and down his little room, trying to clear his head on what to do next. In that moment he heard a buzz coming from his left pocket.

' _No, no, no! Not now!'_

He took the phone out, checking the number.

 _Unknown._

' _Shit.'_

With his hands suddenly shacking, he answered.

"H-hello, si-"

" _Cut the shit out, weasel! Do you have or do you not have what I hired you for?"_

He gulped.

"Yes, sir! I-I mean no, s-sir! I mean…"

" _What are you babbling about?"_

"I-I have on…ly b-basic information for now. S-sir…?"

Silence. Colin could feel sweat rolling down his temple. Silence was never good. He had to act now if he wanted to keep his head. He quickly started to blabber, to mutter out _anything_ that would help him.

"Oh… No, I-I mean… Umm.. Not only basic, no… a little more than that… I mean… Heh, did I say little? That meant incomplete! Yeah, t-that… Incomplete… B-but no, do…don't worry, _do_ _not_ worry! I've got everything under control! Really! I-I swear! I just need a-a _little_ more time…"

" _ **More**_ _ **time,**_ _you ask?"_

Anger could be heard radiating from the voice that interrupted him. Colin didn't dare to speak anymore.

" _Right, look,_ _ **weasel**_ _… I tell you what, the boss ain't happy. So, here's the deal. The final,_ _ **your**_ _ **last**_ _offer. You've got exactly twenty-four hours to gather the information we need –_ _ **starting now!**_ _If you don't gather what we agreed on, I swear – you'll be_ _ **begging**_ _for death… And I'll enjoy it!"_

The line was cut short and a long, monotone sound was the only thing Colin heard for a long time. He was frozen with fear.

* * *

 _Tired._ _ **So**_ _tired…_

Thatch has been walking towards his home for an hour now. His feet were tired and hurting from the long walk. Having nausea and a full nose from the cold were unhelpful as well. And although he was happy for being somewhere familiar, it still wasn't helping. Warmth of the volcano only undid his headache for a bit but was ultimately useless for his cold – he already was burning hot from the coldness he knew was only a deceiver. If he wanted to heal, he needed real doctors and a rest. Something his home could provide. Something his family could provide.

Right now, Thatch was a few feet from the giant gates of the city. The entrance was wide. When Thatch was younger, he one did a counting – how many of _himself_ could fit into the wideness of the entrance. His results were, about twenty. He was only four years old back then

Thatch went to the gates, looking at its heights. While looking, he turned to his right and started walking beside them. He reached his hand and touched the cold surface of the bedrocks and gold underneath, every one of the rocks still present and untouched. And as came to the end of the gates, he continued on touching the petrified volcano.

This stone was his. It was his home.

A few footsteps later Thatch came to an old rusty door. They were quite well hidden, the colour of the old metal completely matching the colour of the wall – they were even hidden from view by some out-growing rocks beside them. He only hoped that someone was still guarding this old passage.

Thatch lifted his hand to knock and as he pounded the door he could hear the deep, metal sound echoing and traveling further and further inside. All he needed to do now was to wait for a guard.

After some time Thatch could hear a new sound coming from within. They were shoes, stamping and tramping and getting louder.

A guard.

When the sound of shoes was at the gates, Thatch saw a peephole in front of him open. A pale skin and ruby-red eyes caught his form. At first they were stern and cold but at the sight of a young vampire they widened in surprise. The peephole shut close quickly afterwards and Thatch let out a slight smile at the guard behaviour.

He heard the sound of a key turning and a second later the metal door opened. The guard, a tall Vampire dressed into silver armour of the city guard, on his chest a sign of the kingdom – a red diamond. With a red cape falling behind him, he greeted Thatch. His voice was a tenor, smooth but Thatch could hear an army's sternness deep behind the nice mask that the guard was showing.

"My prince! We didn't expect you coming!"

* * *

…

…

…

 **Initiating start-up**

…

Status: **Successful**

 **Sending orders to the implant**

…

…

Subject: **Subject 141**

Target: **King Garridan III**

Location: **Vampire kingdom**

Mission: **Assassination**

…

 **Order accepted and active.**

…

Subject release: **Initiating**

…

…

…

For the first time, he _moved_.

He felt every sensation that he caused. He could feel his entity, his _body_ moving in all directions, always hitting something hard and cold, trying to break free but to no avail. Before he could continue trashing, something new entered his senses.

 _A sound._

He could hear high pitches entering his senses - they were the sounds of hissing and screeching of something near him. He tried and turned his body towards the sound.

Suddenly, something bright entered his line of vision. He _saw_ something. And with it, for the first time, he could sense something breaching into formerly still environment.

 _Air._

It was air. The air whistling around him, hot and dry, entering his safety base, entering and stroking him, stroking his body and senses with something new. Something _interesting_.

He had to get out.

Moving his body, pulsing it and crawling with his limbs towards the light, he somehow knew this was the way. This was the way to achieve his goal. To _kill_. To deform and rip apart his target _piece_ _by_ _piece_. He could already feel the warm blood trickling under his touch, warm and thick and…

The ground beneath him suddenly changed. It was no longer smooth and cold. He felt with his new-found senses and he felt the ground, rough and tender underneath.

Like blood, only solid.

In that moment a feeling rushed over him from the back of his mind. He needed to turn, _now_. To look around.

 _Where was he?_

 _ **Where**_ _was the goal?_

As he moved his head, he saw a shape in the distance, dancing in the heat.

 _ **The market place outside the Vampire kingdom**_ the back of his mind told him. That was his goal. He needed to get there. _Now._

Suddenly, he felt something. He could feel a signal from the back of his mind. It appeared only for a second being nothing more than a pulse. But it felt _alerting_. In the next moment he felt something new again.

And this time he screamed.

He felt the _pain_ , coming on the inside, activating and melting his bones, re-shaping them just beneath his skin. His inward structure broke, bones and organs reforming and forming, and it _hurt_. He never stopped screaming. And he could feel the burning sensation striking him from the outside as well. It hit every spot of his body, the heat melting it and re-growing it. After a few moments which felt like an eternity, he finally slipped into muffled cries as his body, at last completely destroyed, started to reform. The pain was milder now that he knew what the worst kind of pain felt like.

He felt calm.

The pain was necessary.

He knew that.

 _He trusted his mind._

He collapsed into himself, lying on the ground, his limbs completely disappearing and _fusing_ with his body until they were no more. The first thing he could do was wriggling in every direction possible and as his tongue slipped through the crack in his lips, he suddenly had the whole insight of the situation around him.

He activated his tongue again and suddenly he knew.

He was _long_ and _thin_ now. His limbs were gone but in their place he could sense smooth _scales_ , running all the way down from his _head_ to his _tail_. What the back of his mind told him, he was now small and unseen. Perfect for the mission.

 _He was a snake._

* * *

Casper had a bad feeling, entering Yaga's shack. It was dark and unsettling to look at from the outside already, but from the inside…

When they entered the building, no one expected of the Captain to close the door. It was the loudest _**bang**_ Casper has ever heard and it scared them to the core.

When Beaky calmed them down and when their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they could see that the room was not entirely dark. Little ghost could see tiny blue stones, big and small, scattered across the entire space. Some of the stones were even on the walls and on the ceiling, glowing with a comforting blue light. Beside the stones, the room was empty.

Captain, leading his own way for once, kept moving, and soon he led the tiny group to the other side of the room. There, he faced the wall and felt it with his fingers before he crouched down and knocked three times on the wooden floor. For a time, only silence was present. No one dared to move or talk, their imagination of what would happen slowly taking over.

From afar they could hear squeaking and moving. The sound was getting closer until it stopped just below their feet. Not a second later the handle lifted from the ground. Cappy stepped towards it and grabbed it, lifting a hidden hatch which revealed a steep staircase, leading downwards.

"Arr! She's here!" Captain laughed and descended down the squeaking stairs. Others followed.

When they came to the bottom, their eyes widened. The place was filled with blue stones, which were illuminating the room, revealing that it was filled with many objects. The staircase, which magically entered the room on its far corner, revealed an old and dusty basement. Wherever they looked they could see webs, being even on the furniture. In the middle of the room was a giant table, covered with a tattered, dark setting in the middle of which was a vase with a long-since-dried bouquet. All around it they could see chairs, Russian motives carved in their rests. In the far corner, just opposite the staircase, group could see the fireplace with a giant pot hanging above it, seemingly being out for quite a while. And in the furthest corner of the room, dark as the night, they could see something resembling a bed.

All over the place were ingredients and flowers, some of them even growing out of the house itself, filling the room with a sweet, heavy aroma.

Casper gaped in admiration, not being able to see enough of it.

"Wow."

Suddenly and out of nowhere, a raspy voice with a deep Russian accent spoke: "What do you want, old man?"

From the darkest corner of the room, a place where laid the bad, the only place without any blue stones, they heard a creack and then a hollow tramping. It was growing louder and louder as it came nearer: "The last I saw you… Why didn't you come back sooner?" figure stopped before the group who could now see her clearly. She was an old, wrinkled and oddly human-looking woman, dressed into a pink embroidered shirt and a deep blue dress. She was supporting herself on a long wooden cane.

"That tight embrace you had me, I still remember it all, old man! Our bodies strong and burning… _**Ты разбудил(а) во мне давно забытое.**_ Everything we had, all the things we dared! _**Душа моя**_ was never the same _."_

Captain smiled at the familiar voice and memories which woke inside his mind's eye: "Yaga, me sweetest jelly-fish, yer words still kno' how ta wake tha fire in me…" and he went to her, taking her hand in his: "Me siren, Iâve tried t' return fer eternity. Calipso kept me sailin', she loot me eyes fer tryin' t' escape her. But now, me dearest, I be here."

As he went on, he lifted her hand kissing her while still mumbling: "Me muse, oh, Iâve missed ye. Me beloved siren, yer hand alone will always 'ave me heart, th' Davy Jonesâ locker itâs yers fer eternity, me-"

She pulled her hand away from his lips and united the other hand with the first in a grip before her blue and pink embroidered dress. He stopped, lifting his head to only hearing her breathing and smelling her scent. He was breathing deeply, trying to take in as much of her as he was kneeling in place. His imagination worked instead of his eyes.

"Your words, my love… They're flattering _**д**_ _ **уша моя**_ , just as they always did. But… it's been so long and now… Now we're old. You've lived your life and I've lived mine. We're different now. Too different…" she watched as Captain quickly stood up, went closer to her and without warning, embraced her in his arms and kissed her with all the passion he could feel.

Casper, Manta and Ra turned away slightly, while Beaky just sat on a big trunk in the opposite corner. Casper wandered if the old lovers even knew that they were present.

Captain broke the kiss after a few moments: "Me siren…"

"Shhh…" Yaga hushed him as Captain released her from his embrace. He awkwardly backed away to the group while Yaga just watched with a heavy heart. Beaky flew back onto Captain's shoulder, looking at him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, my love," without another word, she changed her sad look into a stern one in almost a second: "Why are you here?"

Casper answered for the Captain: "We came to buy flintstone from you. Do you have any?"

She smiled and her wrinkles multiplied around her eyes: "Of course I do. But the price for it is pretty high. Flintstones I'm selling are magical and don't expire easily."

Manta leaned closer to Ra and whispered into his ear: "She's a witch."

"What I desire," Yaga continued: "is a firebird."

" _Firebird?"_ the whole group said in unison. Coming over his shock, Casper said:"B-but we don't have a firebird."

"Then, what I desire is one of you, _**дорого́й**_ ," she looked towards the pot in the fireplace: "I haven't started the fire for a long time now."

" **U-us?** " Ra backed away a few steps, lifting his arms in fear: "Y-you _can't_!" he looked at his friends: "She can't! …r-right?"

Casper and Manta backed him up quickly: "Y-yeah, we're _not_ for sale! You can't do this!"

"Besides, I'm q-quite sure we'd taste **awful** – awful…"

"We're **really** not that good to eat, you'll get stomach flew… C-Captain, tell her!"

But Cappy didn't respond – he was with Beaky in the corner of the room, seeming oblivious to everything around him.

"Captain!" Casper turned back to the witch, backing away himself. All kids kept talking and talking and as they kept babbling, Yaga took in a deep breath, wanting to sight, when suddenly, she stopped.

"Wait! Shhhh, _**дорого́й…**_ " Yaga held out her hand, shutting the terrified group as she smelled the air, lifting her nose high: "I smell something…"

Everyone looked at her in confusion, following her movement with alarm.

"I smell…" she started walking, moving closer to the group: "Treasure."

They exchanged still scared, but puzzled looks.

 _Treasure?_

She continued smelling, sniffing in every direction, Captain and Beaky's, Casper's, Manta's and… Ra's where she stopped. With her nose high in the air, she froze, opening her eyes which were pointed at him. Then she quickly rushed towards him, grabbing Ra by the arm and closed up upon him, sniffing him: "You…"

Her black eyes looked straight into his. He felt panic rising inside of him.

"Young boy… I smell emerald, rubies and sapphires all over your puny little body, yet I see none. If you would be good enough to explain, how this is possible?" she let go of him, slightly backing away. Ra, terrified to his core, shaking and feeling , reached underneath his wrappings and pulled out a handful of gems. Seeing this, Yaga turned towards the whole group: "I've got a new offer. If this boy gives me all the jewels he has, the deal is sealed."

"Yes! Yes, by Horus and Anubis, we accept!" Ra, not waiting for others, reached into himself and brought out handful upon handful of various gems and bedrocks. The pile on the floor was getting bigger and bigger, same as Yaga's eyes who grew wider and wider by a jewel.

"Ra!" Manta was shocked as she watched just how much of the values Ra was getting out: "How dare you! You **stole** the jewels?!" Manta was furious and Ra, in the dim light, tried to back away from her as much as he could.

"They were pretty, ok? I couldn't help it!" Manta looked even more furious at these words and Ra, seeing the anger boiling behind her eyes, quickly add up: " **But** , wait, **but,** _these_ jewels might just save us right now, right? We get the flintstones, she gets paid with something that _isn't_ ourselves and everyone's happy! _I_ saved the day!" that being said, Ra pulled out the last gem, letting it fall on the pile which, by now, was reaching to his hips.

Yaga, not letting her eyes of the treasure, snapped her fingers. A bag appeared out of nowhere beside the Captain.

"Flintstones. As agreed," she didn't even look at them, as they went. Out of the group, Cappy was the only one to turn back, taking in Yaga's scent and holding it in his lungs for the last time. Exhaling, he gently whispered before he, too, left: "Farewell, me love."

Only after the hatch closed and she was left alone in the blue light, did Yaga let the valuable rocks fall from her hands and looked after her lover, sad black eyes lacking of all light and joy.

* * *

Upon leaving the house everyone let out a deep sight, Captain and Beaky being the last one out.

Parrot, sitting on the sea-dog's downcast shoulders was patting the other on the back, calming him down.

"Please, Capn', ya'll get through. Ya always did."

"She 'as me heart, Beaky," the calling of his name surprised the parrot. It might as wellbe the first time he heard the old sea-dog say it: "She has me heart and it's 'ers for eternity," he didn't seemed prepared for talking anymore after that so Beaky let it be for the time.

He remembered his grandmas' saying from the time he was in a bazar: _'Time heals every wound.'_ Perhaps a talk about this would be better for another day.

Quite contrary, the kids were smiling and laughing for successfully escaping Yaga's shack.

"Sure glad that's over!" Ra said with his mouth stretched into a biggest smile. Manta, beside being happy, on the other hand was looking rather disappointed in him: "I still can't believe you stole those jewels."

"I did save us, didn't I?"

"…yeah, you did… But still, that was very irresponsible, Ra! Good thing that that was the only price we had to pay!" she crossed her hands: "How did you even get all that inside of your wrappings?" Manta looked at Ra puzzled. He only smiled and reached inside of his wrappings only to pull out the biggest gem Manta ever saw. The only gem he let himself keep. An emerald.

"A good magicians, or soon-to-be vizier, never tell his secrets," Ra said with a cocky smile all over his face.

Manta only rolled her eyes in response.

Casper smiled at his friends: "All is well that ends well, they say. How about it? Time to get back on the ship!"

* * *

The dark presence stopped upon hitting the thick crowd and slowly, without notice, leaned its snake-like head over one of the stand's sharp corner. Losing the sight of its target, shadow quickly and silently slipped under the wood. Materializing in a form of a snake, a shadow-animal looked up upon the woman before him. She was an olive green ogre with messy dark hair reaching over her wide shoulders, dressed in fiery-coloured garments. She had a dirty-yellow shirt, torn by the sides, and a red skirt reaching to her knees. On her feet, she wore a pair of leggings, pushed into wooden flip-flops. The creature couldn't see her eyes, but he didn't mind.

Why would he?

He slipped into her shadow, the only trace being tiny ripples forming upon the surface. The takeover was swift.

Saleswoman, losing the control of herself to a possessive creature, cut the talking to her undead customer, instead putting on a serious, colourless expression.

Customer, surprised by the sudden change, frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. A woman before him, her eyes and moving lips full of energy and life inn one moment, suddenly stopped everything she was doing in the next, her arms falling dead beside her. He felt something cold seeing this and shivers ran down his spine. And he thought he was supposed to be an undead… He saw the films and knew what his kind was like in the mind of a common man. He found it hilarious at the time but right now…

"Ma'am? Um… You ok?"

Upon getting no answer, he reached his hand out to shake her by the shoulder – as he found out upon his arm being roughly grabbed and slammed to a standing's front desk, perhaps that wasn't the greatest idea. He was sure he heard a crack beneath all the flesh –it hurt as much that he didn't notice tears that were starting to form in his eyes.

His arm being let go, he quickly retreated.

Groaning and mumbling curses while holding his throbbing arm, he backed away in search of a first-aid stand. His hand was already starting to swollen, crimson colour spreading under his skin.

What a shame. He would have bought her fruit in a minute, if not for the action.

As he backed away, Shadow could finally concentrate on his goal. He searched through the ogre woman's eyes, dark eyes wandering throughout the multi-coloured clothes, dresses and skirts, every and each one so colourful. Bags and backpacks, theme-printed hats, opened umbrellas lifting high above their heads and walking canes ticking and tacking with a high-pitched sound as they supported their mistresses and masters. However, shadow didn't mind them, nor the laugh, confusion or anger he saw and heard. They weren't his point of interest.

Instead, the creature decided to test the capabilities of this new body. It forced the legs to move and arms to open the door as the possessed one stepped out of the stand. Shadow turned its new head and eyes to look around. Soon his eyes rested upon the wall in the distance.

The chase could finally continue.

* * *

A tall vampire guard, Lucas by the name, lead Thatch along the darkened corridor, only torches guiding their way. The corridor was straight and, as Thatch remembered from the stories he heard as a child, the only passage inside the walls, which had only one entrance and only one exit. It was wide enough and tall enough so that Thatch didn't feel claustrophobic, but was, in return, dark and quiet, light of the torches the only thing that was leading the way.

As Thatch explained to Lucas why he came unannounced, he deliberately missed out the dreams. Lucas seemed calm and right now, that was enough for Thatch.

As he and Lucas came to the other side, they came to an opening of a great and wide road, the first side street, thus being one of the widest. Lucas led Thatch to the edge of the yellow-stoned sidewalk, Lucas making sure that he shielded Thatch from the crowd with his cape. As they stopped he lifted his arm and waved at the passing carriage which stopped just before them. When Thatch entered the common vehicle and sat on the coated seats, Lucas talked to the coachman about the destination, putting a fitted pouch into his hand. Coachman, nodding as he accepted the payment, lashed with his whip and two black stallions on front started moving.

Thatch, finally relaxing and feeling much better - this charade finally being near the end - moved closer to the window and leaned himself on the edge. There he looked outside, a small smile escaping his lips, as the buildings and people of his home were passing by.

He didn't even notice when he slipped into a restful slumber.

* * *

 **Now, for some explanation:**

 _ **COLIN: **_

**Colin is my OC.**

 **He is a trainee at the man's company (the name is yet to be revealed) and he is quite unhappy with his job. He wanted to make more profit and for that he made a deal with another company, for which he needs to steal valuable information – his main assignment now is to gather and sell information about Subject 141.**

 **He is a dwarf-tall redhead.**

 **His character is that of a weasel – cowardly and greedy, he would do anything to make some money.**

 _ **SUBJECT 141/BUGGANE/SHADOW:**_

 **Shadow is my OC, based on a Manx folklore.**

 **He is a buggane, his main form being an ogre-like creature with a raven-black hair. He has eyes which glitter like torches and sharp tusks coming out of his mouth. They are unable to cross water and standing on hallowed ground.**

 **Bugganes are shapeshifters, thus able to take form of any creature they want, making Shadow a perfect candidate for the mission. I've added a new capability thou, he is able of possession through a person's shadow. I like to imagine that this is a side-effect from the experiment the company were doing on him. At the company, he was implanted with a device at the back of his head which allows company to control his movement and abilities.**

 **To see his snake form, check the link below.** **The device is at the base of his neck (the striped oval on the back):**

 **majoradreemurr52/art/Dark-prince-Teaser-Shadow-753199668**

 _ **YAGA:**_

 **I took Yaga's character out of a Salvic folklore. I took her form as designed by Ivan Bilibin. She can be seen quite differently to people, depending on them – she can be seen as a donor, villain or an ambiguous person. Her cottage is said to be able to travel by itself on chicken legs.**

 **Yaga's meaning of sentences in Russian:**

 _ **Ты разбудил(а) во мне давно забытое.**_ **\- You have awoken something long forgotten inside of me.**

 _ **Душа моя**_ **\- my soul**

 _ **дорого́й**_ **\- dear, darling**

 **I gave Yaga the new ability, to smell whatever she desires. I came up with that from a cartoon about her that I once watched. There, she had a pretty good smell and almost everything she did resolved around that. When Yaga was resting and Vasilisa was cooking for her, she always smelled from the far corner of the room and told her what was wrong. Of course, at the end, Vasilisa was meant to go into the pot, but she managed to escape when the witch fell asleep, being helped by a mouse. While she was escaping, again, Yaga was looking for her with her nose and I think this is quite an interesting ability to have. :)**

 _ **KING GARRIDAN III AND QUEEN CRINA:**_

 **Garridan III and Crina are Thatch's parents. They'll be properly representd in later chapters, this being a rough description.**

 **I came up with their names using the Romanian origins.**

 **Garridan is a boy's name, meaning:** _ **'The one who keeps secrets within himself.'**_ **I think that the name will be quite appropriate furthermore. I deliberately didn't use name such as Dracula or Vlad or something similar because that,in my humble opinion, would be just too big of a clich** **é.**

 **Crina is a girl's name, meaning:** _ **'Lily flower.'**_ **I've got no special explanation for it. The name just sounded right. :)**

 **By the way, did you know that the name '** _ **Thatch**_ **' originates from England? It literally means '** _ **hay**_ **' or '** _ **covering the roof with hay**_ **'. Wicked.**

 **Anyway, know that these descriptions aren't a hundred percent decided. They're just a rough outline which will deepen or even slightly change throughout the story.**

 **Tell me what you think! I'll be happy to read about your opinions of the story so far. I hope I made up for the long wait!**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


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